University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Theatre & Film

351 Makeup for Theatre

THR 351 3 Credits Spring
Makeup for Theatre (1+4) h
Theatrical makeup for actors, teachers, directors, and other theatre workers; makeup materials and use, age and character makeup, injuries and horror, Kabuki, cross-gender, animal, illusory and plastic relief, crepe hair beards, and influence of lighting. Student will spend approximately $85 for materials and book for this class.

You may also choose to purchase a tackle box or makeup case to store your supplies.

Recommended Text: Stage Makeup by Richard Corson

You are not required to purchase a textbook for this class; however, this is the text I recommend if you are interested in further study.

Expectations/Course Goals

This course teaches the basics of makeup application for the theatre through a series of exercises, beginning with basic corrective makeup and working through old age, injuries, animal designs and fantasy makeup. Students will research and create their own makeup designs each week, culminating in a final design project at the end of the semester. The course is organized to allow students to learn how to apply makeup on themselves as well as others.

Preparation for Class

Students are expected to arrive to class prepared to apply makeup. Men should be clean shaven and women should wash off any street makeup prior to the start of class. Hair should be pulled back out of the face, including bangs and fly-aways.

Bring all of your makeup to class every day. You never know what you might need. Supplies must be taken home at the end of each class. There is no way to lock the classroom. The Student Drama Association rents lockers in the hall outside of the women’s dressing room if you wish to keep your makeup at the theatre.

You will be given two photos of yourself to use for makeup designs. Please bring these to class every day. Certain assignments will require you to design makeup for a partner and you will need to exchange photos to do this.

Assignments/Attendance

Each week, students will complete an in-class makeup exercise, beginning with simple techniques and building up to more difficult projects. Most weeks there will be a preparatory research and/or design assignment pertaining to the next week’s exercise. Because the class only meets once a week and all makeup application will occur during class, it is imperative that all students be PREPARED, PRESENT AND ON TIME TO EVERY CLASS.

Students may be excused at the discretion of the instructor for illness, family emergency or life event ONLY if the absence is cleared IN ADVANCE.[*] I will not back down on this. If I do not have a phone call or email from you by 2:00 on Monday, you are “shit outta luck.” Documented proof, such as a doctor’s note, hospital bill or obituary may be required to obtain an excused absence. Students who miss class unexcused will not earn attendance or preparation points for that class AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO MAKE UP THE ASSIGNMENT FOR THAT DAY. So basically, you may choose to miss a class if you feel you can afford to lose the points. Students who have obtained an excuse will still lose the attendance points for that day, but will have the opportunity to make up class exercises. Students who are consistently late will be penalized at the discretion of the professor.

In-Class Assignments Most classes will begin with approximately 30-45 minutes of lecture/demonstration. Students will then have 1 ½ to 2 hours to experiment with techniques and complete the assignment. Students will photograph the final application before washing their face. The final 30 minutes of class are for cleanup and explanation of next week’s project/homework. Some classes will not run the entire three hours, however students are encouraged to stay, practice and experiment with makeup techniques until excused by the instructor.

Makeup Portfolio Weekly designs, research and exercises will be documented and NEATLY compiled into a makeup portfolio. This should be aesthetically consistent, neat and attractive. (That means you use the same paper, same labeling technique, layout etc throughout.) The portfolio will be turned in once at mid-semester for a preliminary grade and again at the end of the semester for a final grade. I recommend you prepare the portfolio ahead of time so you can simply insert pages each week. If you do not have a good photo printer at home, remember you can upload photos to Walmart.com and pick up your prints at the store.

Final Project At the end of the semester, students will research, design and prepare a final project to be executed during the final exam period. This project will be graded in two parts: your preparation, research and design, and your execution on exam day. The project may include hairstyles, accessories or costume pieces which can be completed in advance, but actual application of makeup must be done during the exam. You will have a class period beforehand in which to practice any new techniques.

Research

When researching for your makeup assignments, it is important to use only primary research. In other words, pictures of actual elderly people, black eyes, tigers, etc. Pictures of other people’s makeup, including images from plays/movies, are not appropriate research in most cases (clowns being one exception).

Cheating=Bad. Learning=Good.

Because most of the work for this class will be completed in my presence, I am not too concerned about you not doing your own work, but just in case…Don’t copy, don’t cheat. Don’t have someone draw or research for you. Don’t steal a design concept from some production you saw before I moved up here. Remember, cheating=bad, learning=good. Plus, if I catch you cheating, or your work doesn’t look like yours, you’ll lose all the points for the assignment. If I catch you cheating a second time, you’ll fail my class. And who wants that? Nobody.

Also, please treat your instructor, the dressing room, the equipment, supplies and your fellow students with respect. While I may allow conversation during class from time to time, please stick to suitable subjects and limit the use of inappropriate language.

(Please refer to the UAF Catalog Academics and Regulations under Student Code of Conduct for more information on the University’s policies regarding student behavior. I am very serious about this. Please do your own work.)

Grading

Attendance-14 classes 5 points each 70 points, 15%

Preparation-14 classes 5 points each 70 points, 15%

Preliminary Portfolio Grade 20 points, 5%

Makeup Portfolio*

Overall portfolio layout, neatness, etc. 20 points, 5%

Research-10 assignments 5 points each 50 points, 11%

Designs-10 assignments 5 points each 50 points, 11%

Applications-12 assignments 10 points each 120 points, 27%

Final Exam 50 points, 11%

Total: 450

*If a student fails to complete a research/design assignment, they may not be allowed to complete the class application for that week. Absent students who have not been excused will not be allowed to make up the application missed, but can still earn the points for design/research assignments for that week.

Both final projects for this class are due at the very end of the semester, though I will provide a mid-semester progress grade to everyone who turns in a preliminary portfolio. It may be difficult for you, and even me, to ascertain your final grade in the class prior to you turning in your portfolio and final exam. I will do my best to keep you informed if it is obvious to me that you may be failing or falling behind, but ultimately it is your responsibility to attend class and complete your assignments every week.

A+ 97-100% B+ 87-89% C+ 77-79% D+ 65-70%

A 93-96% B 83-86% C 73-76% D 60-64% Failing is below 58 percent

A-90-92% B- 80-82% C- 70-72% D- 58-59%

Disabilities

I will be glad to work with the Office of Disabilities Services (203 WHIT, 474-7043) to provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the office and provide a letter of accommodation within three weeks of the start of class. Letters of accommodation will be accepted at any time, but will not be applied retroactively after three weeks.

Blackboard

All information included on this syllabus, detailed assignment instructions and up-to-date grades will be available on Blackboard at classes.uaf.edu within the first few weeks of the semester.